Such a beautiful morning next to the San Francisco Peaks in Flagstaff. I wish we could stay here for a few days. So quiet and peaceful. But, we are hitting the road to Cali. Goodbye for now Flagstaff.
HA! It only took us 5 1/2 weeks to figure out the best way to have everyone sit while we travel
And, good to know if we want a drink on the road we can just do drive-thru to buy liquor. Right?!?
As we drove from our campspot into Flagstaff we decided we could no longer ignore the metal noise coming from our brakes, so we just made a stop at Flagstaff Auto Repair to have them checked out. Two hours, and $93 later, we are back on the road. Brake pads look great... we just have a lot of dirt and sand we've traveled in. Good to know we are all set! On the road again!
So green! So blue!
Goodbye peaks of Flag!
Hello desert driving
We drove for hours, watching the desert landscape switch from Ponderosa pines to scrub brush and low plants. The road was pretty rough and in need of repairs. Steve laughed at the signs that said rough road. Every few miles there would a sign to let drivers know the roads are indeed rough.
The picture above was taken by Steve. He was excited because he spotted Dodge's Proving Ground for their new and upcoming cars. There in the desert, they test vehicle reliability, endurance, and quality.
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A couple hours later we crossed the Colorado River and are now in California. As soon as we drove across the state line, gas prices went up by a dollar plus and the road conditions improved drastically. Coincidence? I think not.
The Mojave Desert is an amazing landscape. Vast, open, and surprisingly full of life... Coyotes, rattlesnakes, bats, the Desert Tortoise, Red Tailed Hawk, scorpions, and so much more! We literally drove into the sunset, with the Barstow area as our destination. (Wish our windshield had been clear!)
I think it was around eight o'clock when we pulled off I-15 and into Dagget, a small town east of Barstow. I drove while Steve nagivated. Earlier in the evening, as he researched places to camp, he realized there were not many open land areas near us to boondock in. But, he did find a BLM campground called Owl Canyon. I have officially named the dirt road up to the canyon 'washboard road'. We drove over four miles on the bumpiest road we've been on yet. The sun had set and I was using my headlights to find the rut of least resistance to get to the campsite. After driving a couple miles, we considered turning around but instead went for the end goal and continued up the road. The picture below doesn't even show the crazy bumps. When it rains here in the desert, flash flooding occurs and there is evidence of that everywhere. This time of year we are safe to explore the roads. Monsoon season it would be a different story.
We finally made it! Woo hoo!
Will be fun to see what views the morning brings!
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